Make it real: Rust says relevance to public not FOBTs real challenge for racing

Relevance to the wider world is the real challenge facing British racing, not the threat to the sport's income from government action against FOBTs, BHA chief executive Nick Rust said on Tuesday.

Speaking to the Racehorse Owners Association annual meeting in London, Rust said the leadership at racing's governing body was "paid to have sleepless nights" and outlined a number of potential threats, including the changing political landscape, Brexit and the potential for public support to ebb away after equine fatalities.

Rust acknowledged "understandable" action by the government on FOBTs would lead to an acceleration of betting shop closures.

However, he added: "In my view the real challenge is not a potential fall in revenues because of legislation affecting betting shops but rather our overall relevance to the British public.

"How relevant are we to young people, to sports fans, to people who bet? How relevant are we in the digital world? How relevant are we to people who are not from a white, heterosexual, able-bodied background."

Rust said the evidence suggested there was much work to do and that the BHA and Great British Racing were working on what the sport's "visions and values" should be.

He added: "It's our relevance that will drive betting, attendances, engagement, media coverage and media value, participation and employment, and of course drive revenues to make our sport run.

"In truth we are all struggling to keep pace with the changing behaviour of consumers. If we are to be relevant to a wider audience in today's digital world British racing needs strong and effective leadership, direction and regulation to address the challenges and the risks our sport faces."

Rust said BHA executives had this year identified a number of those risks.

"Some of them do give us sleepless nights and some of them have in fact since begun to come to pass," he added.

The first, Rust said, was the impact of a changing political landscape, "including the potential for a new government taking a tougher stance on areas such as betting or equine welfare because we know that about half the public think our sport is cruel".

A second was a high level of equine fatalities at a major race meeting such as Cheltenham or Aintree, "skewing the public's view of jumps racing and leading to increasing pressure for the sport to be restricted or banned".

Cheltenham: BHA working on review into the fatalities at this year's festivalCredit: Patrick McCann

Rust added that the BHA was working on the conclusion of the review into the fatalities at this year's Cheltenham Festival.

Brexit and its effect on the sport's staff and the movement of horses, the safeguarding of racing's workforce, changing consumer behaviour and a breakdown in the sports governance structure were also high on the list of potential risks.

On the last point Rust said the government was happy the sport was well regulated and well run under the tripartite structure formed by the BHA, Racecourse Association and Horsemen's Group but that racing must not be complacent.

"[Government] has shown it will act to intervene if necessary to reduce or remove the independence of individual sports," Rust said.

"Specific to us there is also currently a parliamentary petition, led by animal rights groups, calling for a new independent regulator for British racing which is just 25,000 signatures away from possibly being debated in parliament. A new statutory independent regulator for racing might give you some sleepless nights.

"Whilst we have a strong position in ensuring this will never happen and the BHA is always open to change to meet the needs of our members and shareholders, any future reshaping must not inadvertently weaken our sport's ability to remain independent and govern its own affairs."

Rust also said that the sport must do better in the area of diversity and inclusion, adding the sport's first action plan on those issues was due to be published on Wednesday.

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